Transfer mechanism for floor propellers



J. BOYKO ET AL TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR FLOOR PROPELLERS Filed June 14, 1949 Nov. 24, 1953 2,660,127

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JOHN ear/ 0 0'11," .IIIIIIIIIIIII/ Nov. 24, 1953 J. BOYKQ E TAL TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR FLOOR PROPELLERS Filed June 14, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR. JOHN BOY/f0 0590?!) M. 01: C79

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 24, 1953 TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR FLOOR PROPELLERS John Boyko, Detroit, and Edward W. McCaul, Birmingham, Mich., as'signors to Jervis B. Webb Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 14, l949, Serial No. 99,025

5 Claims. (01. 104-172) This invention relates to a transfer mechanism for use in a floor truck propeller drive.

Propeller drives installed at floor level have been successfully employed to meet the requirements of a power and free system. The general arrangement is such that floor trucks may be loaded or unloaded while off the line, moved to a position over the propeller drive whereupon a drive pin on the floor truck is dropped between guide rails at the floor level to be engaged by a drive dog carried by a submerged propeller chain. In order to adapt a floor propeller drive of this type to a system wherein alternative paths may be followed by propelled floor trucks, the present transfer mechanism was developed and the power-operated mechanism which is used, in combination with a pair of floor drive propeller lines, permits a loaded or unloaded floor truck to be switched from one power line to another.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a power-operated device capable of transferring a floor truck from one power line to another.

Another object is to effect such transfer without resorting to switchable guide tracks but, on the contrary, by employing stationary guide tracks with power mechanism adapted to propel a truck drive pin along a stationary guide track leading to a new power line.

Another object is to provide a power-operated arm adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck traveling along a given power line and to propel such drive pin into the path of a second propeller line.

Another object is to effect the travel of such transfer arm through the use of a conventional power or air cylinder.

Another object is to provide cam means for guiding the transfer arm along a path which involves no sudden change in the direction of the floor trucks drive pin.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism located between two parallel floor tracks;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the anchor pivot for the power cylinder taken along the line 5-6 of Fig. 4.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that a drive chain of the rivetless type has been employed consisting of center links It, side bars H and headed locking pins I2. Special locking pins 13 and [4 having upward extensions It are employed to mount a trolley bracket ll immediately above the side bar lla. A pair of trolley wheels l8 are journaled in the bracket I? and a. drive dog l9 projects forwardly from the bracket with its uppermost level no higher than the top of the trolley wheels I8. A pivoted dog 26 is mounted on a forward extension 2! of the bracket I! and serves to retain the drive 5 pin 22 of any floor truck engaged by the drive,

such pivoted dog being able to move to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 to permit a drive pin in the path of the propeller to move into the engaged position shown in Fig. 2.

One or more intermediate idler trolleys 245 may be employed, the brackets of which are mounted above the side bars Nb of the drive chain in the same manner as the drive bracket ll. The idler bracket is a forging having a longitudinal section 25 generally below the level of the drive pin 22 and upwardly extending side walls 2% are adapted to mount the trolley wheels 21. As best shown in Fig. 3, stub shaft axles 28 are employed in order to provide necessary clearance for the passage of the drive pin 2211.

It will also be seen in Fig. 3 that a pair of guide rails 29 are provided at floor level having a horizontal spacing St to accommodate the drive pins 22 and that the propeller track consists of a pair of opposed channel members 3| mounted immediately beneath the guide rails 29. A U member 32 is connected to the lower ends of the channels 3! extending to a sufficient depth to accommodate the drive chain indicated generally at 33.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, it will be seen that the transfer mechanism is located below floor level between two propeller tracks and 4|. Track 40 supports trolleys and a drive chain, such as previously described, which have a normal direction of travel from right to left as indicated by the arrow a. The arrow lla similarly indicates the normal direction of travel of the trolleys and drive chain supported by track 4!. A transfer arm 42 is adapted to move from the dotted line position shown at 42a to the solid line position shown at 421), and in doing so, to transfer a truck drive pin from the position 43a to the position Mb. The transfer arm 42 consists of a horizontal plate having its upper surface is coincident with floor level. A pair of pins 45 and 46 are seated in the transfer arm and extend through a pair of bushings 41, 38 which are adapted to ride on the surface of a cam plate 49, extending between track members 50 and 5! and rigidly associated therewith. The cam plate 59 is provided with a pair of cam slots 52 and 53, and rollers 54 and 55 journaled on pins 45 and 46 are adapted to travel in such cam slots.

The pin 4-5 is provided with an extension 58 which terminates in a journal for a second roller 5? adapted to travel in a lower cam plate 58 along a path parallel to that of path 52. A connecting member 55 pivotally journaled on the pin extension 58 is attached at its other end to a fluid pressure actuated piston 60 extending out of a cylinder 68a which is anchored by a clevis member 6| to a stationary bracket '62 as best shown in Fig. 6.

The guide rails 23 of the respctive tracks at! and ii, as well as the top portion of the track members 553, 5%, 5! Ma are cut away to provide clearance for movement of the transfer arm 42 to its extreme positions indicated at 42a and 421) corresponding respectively to the extended and retracted positions of the piston rod 55L While for purposes of clarity, the propeller chain and drive dogs illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 have been omitted from Figs. 4 and 5, it will be understood by comparing such figures that such drive chains and dogs travel in each of the tracks id and d! and that the transfer arm 42 is adapted to travel in a horizontal plane above the level of the drive and idler wheels 58, 28.

It will be seen from the above description that when a drive dog is carries a truck pin 22 "to the position shown at 43c and the cylinder is actuated to retract the piston from its extended position, the hooked end of the transfer arm 42 will engage such pin, move it forwardly and laterally away from the curved face 690. of a drive dog i9 causing the pin to follow the path between auxiliary guide rail members 6% to the position 432) the conveyor track. t! where it may become engaged by the next drive dog to come along the latter track.

Since the controls for actuating the cylinder and for synchronizing drive chains along the respective tracks as and ii form no part of the present invention, they are omitted from this disclosure. However, it will be understood that the transfer mechanism disclosed herein is capable of being adapted to various automatic or semiautomatic propeller systems wherein alternative paths are required for individual fioor trucks, and that the flexibility and usefulness of the submerged drive fioor truck system may, as a result of such mechanism, be greatly extended to meet numerous new requirements.

It will also be understood that while a particular transfer mechanism has been described herein in detail, numerous constructional modifications might be incorporated without departing from the scope of our invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A power actuated transfer mechanism for use in a submerged drive floor truck propeller system wherein floor trucks are provided with drive engaging pins projecting into the path of drive dogs carried by a plurality of drive chains traveling along alternative submerged tracks comprising a movable transfer arm, cam track means for defining the path of said movement, power mechanism adapted to move said transfer arm along said cam track means, said arm and path being adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck being propelled by a submerged drive chain along one path and to move said pin along a path departing from said drive chain into the path of an adjacent drive chain, said chain tracks being relieved to accommodate the travel of said arm, stationary guide tracks being provided between said drive chains for guiding said pin along said path.

2. A power actuated transfer mechanism for use in a submerged drive floor truck propeller system wherein floor trucks are provided with drive engaging pins projecting into the path of drive dogs carried by a plurality of drive chains traveling along alternative submerged tracks comprising a movable transfer arm, cam track means for defining the path of said movement, a fluid pressure power cylinder adapted to move said transfer arm along said cam track means, said arm and path being adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck being propelled by a submerged drive chain along one path and to move said pin along a path departing from said drive chain and into the path of an adjacent drive chain, said chain tracks being relieved to accommodate the travel of said arm.

3. A power actuated transfer mechanism for use in a submerged drive floor truck propeller system wherein floor trucks are provided with drive engaging pins projecting into the path of drive dogs carried by a plurality of drive chains traveling along alternative submerged tracks comprising a movable transfer arm, cam track means for defining the path of said movement,

a fluid pressure power cylinder adapted to move said transfer arm along said cam track means, said arm and path being adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck being propelled by a submerged drive chain along one path and to move said pin forwardly and laterally along a path comparable to that of a branch track leading between two parallel main tracks and thereby into the path of an adjacent drive chain, said chain tracks being relieved to accommodate the travel of said arm.

4. A power actuated transfer mechanism for use in a submerged drive floor truck propeller system wherein floor trucks are provided with dr ve engaging pins projecting into the path of drive dogs carried by a plurality of drive chains traveling along alternative submerged tracks each formed by opposed parallel channel members comprising a movable transfer arm, cam track means for defining the path of said movement, power mechanism adapted to move said transfer arm along said cam track means, said arm and path being adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck being propelled by a submerged drive chain along one path and to move said pin along a path departing from said dr ve chain and into the path of an adjacent drive chain, said arm being on a level substantially coinciding with the upper level of said chain tracks and said chain tracks being relieved to accommodate the travel of said arm into intercepting and delivering positions.

5. A power actuated transfer mechanism for use in a submerged drive floor truck propeller system wherein floor trucks are provided with drive engaging pins projecting into the path of drive dogs carried by a plurality of drive chains traveling along alternative submerged tracks each formed by opposed parallel channel members comprising a movable transfer arm, a pair of cam tracks for defining the path of said movement, power mechanism adapted to move said transfer arm along said cam tracks, said arm and path being adapted to intercept the drive pin of a floor truck being propelled by a submerged drive chain along one path and to move said pin along a path departing from said drive chain and into the path of an adjacent drive chain, said arm being on a level substantially coinciding with the upper level of said chain 20 tracks and. said chain tracks being relieved to accommodate the travel of said arm into intercepting and delivering positions, and a guide track being provided intermediate said chain tracks for positively controlling the path of a floor truck pin during transfer from one chain track to another.

JOHN BOYKO. EDWARD W. MCCAUL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 946,730 Jones Jan. 18, 1910 1,065,470 Roed June 24, 1913' 1,124,268 Bernheim Jan. 12, 1915 1,124,271 Bernheim Jan. 12, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 255,974 Germany Feb. 9, 1911 

